A novel femtosecond laser nano-ablation technique called Plasmonic Laser Nano-Ablation (PLN). The technique takes advantage of surface-enhanced plasmonic scattering of ultrashort laser pulses by nanoparticles to vaporize sub-cellular structures in attoliter volumes. The use of nanoparticles may overcome problems associated with current FLMS techniques and does not rely on heating for nanodisruption. In PLN, the particle acts as a “nano-lens,” restricting laser light to the near-field of the particle, and only photodisrupting structures that are nanometers away. This eliminates the need for a tightly focused beam, while still achieving nanoscale ablation resolution. Moreover, the enhanced scattering around the particles reduces the amount of required laser fluence. A method is provided comprising positioning a nanoparticle in proximity to a surface of a material; irradiating the nanoparticle with a laser tuned close to the nanoparticle's plasmonic frequency; and allowing a near-field effect from the irradiated nanoparticle to photodamage the material.